Jhodia Community and Soura Language | 06 Feb 2026

Source: PIB 

Recently, Odisha’s proposal to include the Jhodia community in the Schedule Tribe list and the demand for Soura language inclusion came into focus after the Centre informed the Lok Sabha that the proposal was not supported by the Office of the Registrar General of India (ORGI) and was referred back to the State. 

Jhodia Community 

• The Jhodia (Jhodia Paraja) community, mainly residing in Koraput, Rayagada and parts of Kalahandi districts of Odisha, was earlier recognised as a synonym of the Paroja tribe and received Scheduled Tribe benefits until 1997. 
• The community is socially and economically backward, living in geographically isolated areas, with livelihoods largely dependent on subsistence agriculture and forest produce, and facing significant educational and economic deprivation. 

Soura (Sora) Language 

• The Soura (Saora) language, spoken by the Saora tribe, belongs to the Austroasiatic (Munda) language family and is also known as Sora, Savara, or Saura.  
• It has a distinct script, Sorang Sompeng, developed in 1936 by Mangei Gomango, which holds cultural and religious significance.  
• The language is not included in the Eighth Schedule, which limits its official recognition, institutional support and preservation efforts.  
  • The Government has clarified that there are no fixed criteria or timeline for inclusion of languages, as earlier attempts to frame such criteria by the Pahwa (1996) and Sitakant Mohapatra (2003) Committees remained inconclusive.